Chelmsford selectmen candidates differ on taxes

Chelmsford Selectman Laura Merrill is seeking a second term on the board.

CHELMSFORD -- Taxes always seem to be the perennial favorite topic of discussion among residents.

The average annual residential property tax bill topping $7,000 this year has heightened feelings that the tax burden is getting to be a bit much for many in town.

Candidates for Board of Selectmen, the body that sets the tax rate each year, each have different ideas on how the town should respond to ease the burden for taxpayers and still meet its obligation to provide services to residents.

Incumbent Selectmen George Dixon and Laura Merrill were on opposite sides of the tax classification issue when it came up in December. Merrill was one of three selectmen to vote in favor of maintaining Chelmsford's 19-year single tax rate; Dixon was one of two to vote against it.

Chelmsford Selectman George Dixon is running for re-election to a fourth term.

Precinct 2 Town Meeting Rep. Emily Antul, who is challenging Dixon and Merrill, said she sees paying taxes as a fact of life, and necessary to fund critical services such as public safety, schools and town infrastructure. Like Dixon, Antul supports a split tax rate with a small business exemption, and she suggested other tax breaks for businesses just starting up.

Dixon, who seeks re-election to a fourth term, said "I think it's time" to move to a split tax rate. He said he sees how rising taxes affect residents, especially senior citizens and others on fixed incomes. He said he looks at other comparable towns and sees that most split their tax rates to some degree, and they don't have a problem attracting business.

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"I think we've got a great town to sell, and we've just got to go out and do a great job of selling the town -- let the people know what we have," Dixon said.

Given that the federal government just gave corporations a big tax cut, Dixon said he can't see a better time than now to institute a split rate in Chelmsford.

He said he doesn't want to harm small business, and supports a rate break for those with a valuation of less than $1 million.

Town Meeting Rep. Emily Antul seeks to join the Board of Selectmen.

Dixon said he looks forward to the results of two nonbinding referenda on the town election ballot that seek residents' opinions on whether the town should institute a split rate, and with it a small business exemption.

Depending on the outcome, he said he would like to form a committee to explore the issue further.

Merrill, who seeks reelection to a second term, also looks forward to the results of the referenda. Though she voted for a single rate, she said gathering more information can only help the board with decision-making.

Merrill said that if she does ever change her mind about splitting the tax rate, she would support a break for small businesses.

At the moment, businesses comprise only about 18 percent of the town's tax base, and she said she would only consider it once it goes over 20 percent.

"It just doesn't seem fair to me to spread thousands and thousands of dollars over a couple hundred businesses and expect them to pay our way when we have done nothing to try to curb our spending," Merrill said.

She believes the town needs to take a closer look at its spending habits and force itself to spend less, particularly on capital improvement projects. Merrill suggested an underride, to permanently reduce the tax levy, may be an avenue to accomplish that.

"I don't think it's impossible, but it will take some work," she said.

Merrill has often targeted the capital improvement budget, for which she believes there isn't enough transparency and open discussion. When the committee that develops the budget meets, its sessions are held at 7:30 a.m. on weekdays and they aren't televised, making it very difficult for working residents to attend or follow up, she said.

Merrill said there are many ways the town can progress forward without burdening taxpayers with overrides and "taxing to the levy every time."

She said she believes larger projects need to be better spaced out and those that require borrowing of more than $2 million to $3 million should be put to a vote of the whole community, not just Town Meeting.

Merrill said she wants to see Town Manager Paul Cohen put together a committee to review the findings of last year's comprehensive school facilities assessment. She said needed maintenance and code upgrade projects identified in the review have not been incorporated into the town's capital spending plan. Merrill said she believes these pieces to preserve existing school buildings into the future can be spread out over time to be more economical for the town, which may more easily obtain Massachusetts School Building Authority matching funds for single projects than for a new high school.

Antul, who is running for townwide office for the first time, said she believes Cohen does a good job in crafting the budget each year and that it's of a reasonable range for a town of Chelmsford's size. In her view, there's not much that can be cut from the budget to lower spending.

Antul said she often sees Chelmsford make decisions that are cheaper in the short run but cost the town more in the long run, such as with deferred maintenance of school buildings and roads. The town may be making progress with paying its pension liability, but it wouldn't be in this predicament if previous generations hadn't just "paid the bills," she said.

"We've kicked the can down the road so many times, we're at the dead end," Antul said. "It's time to pick up the stupid can at this point."

"At some point, you have to actually sit down and say, 'Look. These are the things we want as a community, and we have to pay for them,'" she added. "That might make me unpopular, however, I don't think lying to people is the right thing to do, either."

Antul said a split tax rate, with a small business exemption, makes sense, and suggested other tax breaks for businesses starting up.

"If businesses can't afford a standard tax rate for the area and for comparable communities with comparably educated workforces and comparable access to major highways, perhaps their business model is not sound," Antul said.

She pointed to businesses like Kronos and Mercury Systems, which left Chelmsford to relocate to communities with higher commercial property tax rates. She said businesses want amenities that will be attractive to employees.

Antul, Dixon and Merrill are running for two open seats for three-year terms. The town election is April 3.

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